Property Record
424 E WISCONSIN AVE
Architecture and History Inventory
| Historic Name: | HOTEL PFISTER |
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| Other Name: | Hotel Pfister |
| Contributing: | Yes |
| Reference Number: | 35294 |
| Location (Address): | 424 E WISCONSIN AVE |
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| County: | Milwaukee |
| City: | Milwaukee |
| Township/Village: | |
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| Year Built: | 1890 |
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| Additions: | 1965 1893 |
| Survey Date: | 1984 |
| Historic Use: | hotel/motel |
| Architectural Style: | Romanesque Revival |
| Structural System: | |
| Wall Material: | Brick |
| Architect: | HENRY C. KOCH; RASCH, SCHROEDER, SPRANSY - 1965 |
| Other Buildings On Site: | |
| Demolished?: | No |
| Demolished Date: |
| National/State Register Listing Name: | East Side Commercial Historic District |
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| National Register Listing Date: | 9/23/1986 |
| State Register Listing Date: | 1/1/1989 |
| National Register Multiple Property Name: |
| Additional Information: | A 'site file' exists for this property. It contains additional information such as correspondence, newspaper clippings, or historical information. It is a public record and may be viewed in person at the Wisconsin Historical Society, State Historic Preservation Office. See HABS form. Excellent example of a Richardsonian Romanesque style hotel in nearly original condition. The only example of a grand hotel extant in Milwaukee. The Romanesque Revival Pfister Hotel stood at the pinnacle of elegance and comfort when it opened in 1893, and remains one of the city's finest hostelries. It is one of the country’s most impressive, surviving, Victorian-era hotels. Local building materials, not readily available in other parts of the country, make this sizable edifice distinctive. Since its construction, the Pfister's exterior has changed very little, except for the large parking garage and tower wing added in 1965 at the rear (north) side of the building. Walking through the lobby and down the hallways to their luxurious rooms, patrons pass by the hotel’s extensive collection of Victorian-era oil paintings. Tower and parking garage in 1965. Parking garage with 6 floors and 300 cars. "Now the oldest hotel on Wisconsin Avenue, the Pfister is the work of yet another distinguished local architectural firm. Late Victorian tastes are evident in its Richardsonian exterior and are echoed in the lobby's furnishings, high gold-leafed ceilings, and potted palms. A gift of T. A. Chapman, the bronze lions guarding the stairway in the lobby were once so familiar a sight at the front entrance that they were dubbed Dick and Harry by Milwaukeeans. Like the recent addition to Northwestern National, the new wing of the Pfister is thoroughly modern in design yet harmonizes with the forms of the late 19th-century structure." Pagel, Mary Ellen & Virginia Palmer for the University of Wisconsin Extension Division, Guides to Historic Milwaukee: Juneautown Walking Tour, 1965. |
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| Bibliographic References: | Milw. Landmark Nomination. Hotel Pfister Souvenier. Buildings of Wisconsin manuscript. Pagel, Mary Ellen & Virginia Palmer for the University of Wisconsin Extension Division, Guides to Historic Milwaukee: Juneautown Walking Tour, 1965. |
| Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin |